Crocodile coughs up plastic bottles!

An Australian zoo shared a video of a large saltwater crocodile coughing up plastic bottles that were apparently thrown into his enclosure by visitors.

The Rockhampton Zoo in Queensland posted a video to Facebook showing a zookeeper guiding the crocodile, named The Colonel, out of the water in his enclosure. The croc is seen coughing and expelling two plastic bottles from his mouth.

The zoo’s post read: “Plastic bottles are a hazard: yesterday our zoo staff witnessed The Colonel, our large salt water crocodile, in some distress. He was coughing and clearly trying to dislodge something from his throat. After some time, he regurgitated two plastic drink bottles. It was distressing to see the Colonel going through this as a result of a small minority who don’t do the right thing. These plastic bottles have the potential to kill a croc as they can cause internal lacerations, ulcers, infection or impaction. The vast majority of zoo visitors are very respectful of our animals…”

It’s a reminder to all of us to care for the environment and the animals.

Rare Superman comic fetches $1m

A rare copy of Action Comics #1, which marked the first appearance of Superman, was sold at an auction recently for close to $1 million. Heritage Auctions in Dallas sold the edition for $956,000 — which far surpassed the original estimate of $750,000.

The comic, which debuted in June 1938, originally sold for $.10 a copy. There are about 100 copies of the issue believed to still be in existence.

“As the bidding went higher and higher, we were grateful bidders recognised this copy as the gem it truly is,” said Lon Allen, Managing Director of Comics & Comic Art at Heritage Auctions. “Few copies of this comic survive, let alone come to auction with such a bright cover. It displays beautifully.”

The issue came from a private collection and was purchased from a dealer in 1998 for $26,000. The Certified Guaranty Company graded the copy 5.5 out of 10.

110-year-old, 15-pound lobster rescued

Joe Melluso of the Tin Fish restaurant had planned to cook the massive crustacean, but was willing to let it go after John Merritt from iRescue and another group of passionate animal lovers stepped forward.

“When there was a group that wanted to save him, I was disappointed in myself for not having that feeling myself,” Melluso told. “You can pull in hundreds of thousands of pounds [of lobster] and never see a lobster this size,” he said.

Merritt gathered funds from several Florida businesses to have the lobster shipped from the restaurant to the Maine State Aquarium, where it would continue life as Larry the Lobster.

The group Rossi, Martinez, Estern and Melluso worked together to properly package Larry for his journey, placing him in a styrofoam cooler, wrapped in a towel and surrounded by ice packs.

Once Larry arrives in Maine the aquarium will decide whether to release him or add him to their lobster exhibit alongside another 17-pound lobster.

Published in Dawn, Young World, September 3rd, 2016